In a complete state of denial on Thursday, MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell interrupted live coverage of Donald Trump speaking at a Florida campaign rally to supposedly “fact-check” the candidate for citing a bombshell report that the FBI was conducting an extensive investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mail and charitable foundation scandals.
Mitchell refused to accept reality: “Just a lot of fact-checking to do. She's not under criminal investigation. In fact, it's not an investigation. It's just a review of the e-mails. She did not lie to the FBI, according to James Comey. There was no grounds to prosecute her. So there are no lies, there’s no criminality.” She fretted: “I don't know even where to start....but I mean, we have to put it in some context.”
Reporting live from the rally, correspondent Peter Alexander condescendingly remarked: “Well, I think, Andrea, in the simplest of terms, you can't let the facts get in the way of a good story. And for Donald Trump that's been what he's been focused on over the course of the last several days.”
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He proceeded to dismiss the reporting in question:
Obviously taking what we do know to be the facts, the review that is taking place behind closed doors by agents within the FBI, and sort of extrapolating that based on some unsubstantiated reporting, some of it most recently from Fox News, about this criminal investigation. Anonymous sources suggesting that an indictment is likely and even suggesting that the State Department was interfering with the investigation right now.
In the 10 a.m. ET hour, anchor Craig Melvin similarly rejected the news as “reporting that hasn’t been verified by this network.” However, despite such hand-wringing, MSNBC actually covered the story twice Thursday morning.
Here is a transcript of Mitchell’s November 3 exchange with Alexander:
12:30 PM ET
(...)
ANDREA MITCHELL: Donald Trump going after both President Obama now and Hillary Clinton. Peter Alexander, you're there in the room. Just a lot of fact-checking to do. She's not under criminal investigation. In fact, it's not an investigation. It's just a review of the e-mails. She did not lie to the FBI, according to James Comey. There was no grounds to prosecute her. So there are no lies, there’s no criminality. I don't know even where to start, but let's just review the bidding here in what Donald Trump is saying on the campaign trail. It is what he's been saying frequently on the campaign trail, but I mean, we have to put it in some context.
PETER ALEXANDER: Well, I think, Andrea, in the simplest of terms, you can't let the facts get in the way of a good story. And for Donald Trump that's been what he's been focused on over the course of the last several days. Obviously taking what we do know to be the facts, the review that is taking place behind closed doors by agents within the FBI, and sort of extrapolating that based on some unsubstantiated reporting, some of it most recently from Fox News, about this criminal investigation. Anonymous sources suggesting that an indictment is likely and even suggesting that the State Department was interfering with the investigation right now.
Now, all of that said, none of that matters to anybody where we are right here. The thousands of people here yesterday and elsewhere in this state and I imagine later North Carolina, when he punctuates this point again, they are all fired up by this. They come in with signs that read "Lock her up,” with t-shirts. I saw a young man who walked in here with an outfit that he created for himself that looked like he was wearing prison stripes and it said "Inmate Clinton" across the front of it. So that's what Donald Trump’s doing. This is what rallies the base in places like this. Florida in particular is a mosaic of sorts, a patchwork of different counties where you need to grow the red vote, the Republican vote, and that's why Donald Trump is really playing that theme up here today.
(...)
